Il6 TWO NEW WORLDS 



It is unthinkable. The mind stands more aghast 

 at such a possibility than it does at the contem- 

 plation of many infinities. No ; there must be a 

 supra-world a world of a higher scale, inhabited 

 by beings for whom a trillion years are as a day, 

 and the sun's life-period the shortest measurable 

 interval of time. Already there are at least two 

 schemes of such a world in sight. It remains for 

 us to choose the most plausible one, and, if possible, 

 the reality. 



NOTE A. 



Since the "dark-star" argument has been the 

 centre of considerable controversy, I may as well 

 give the figures here. 



Ten thousand light-years are approximately 10 22 

 cm. A sphere of that radius contains 4'2 x 1C 66 

 cubic cm. The density being 10~ n , the mass 

 contained within this sphere is 4'2 x 10 35 grammes. 

 This is about 10 22 times the mass of our sun, so 

 that if the sun represents a fair average, there 

 will be 10 22 heavenly bodies within that sphere 

 a number very largely in excess of the luminous 

 stars. Now, the sectional area of the sun is 6 x 

 10 22 sq. cm., and the sectional area of all the 10 22 

 bodies added up is 6 x 10 44 sq. cm. The surface of 

 a sphere of 10 22 cm. radius is 12'6 x 10 44 sq. cm. So 

 that if all the dark bodies were evenly distributed 

 over this surface, they would cover half of it. But 

 that would be their least effective position, and 

 many of them, being nearer to us, would cover 



